In our urban landscapes, pest outbreaks occur more frequently than in natural habitats such as wooded forests. These pest outbreaks occur from urbanization processes such as buildings and roads that can disrupt the balance of natural enemies and plant feeding mites. This disruption of the ecosystem can lead to fewer beneficial mites which results in giving herbivore mites an advantage. To help suppress the herbivore mite population a predatory mite can be released on the plant.Read more ›

Severe, prolonged drought in the California Bay area has given rise to many problems for homeowners – including wildfires that have overtaken thousands of acres. With drought conditions to aid them, these blazes have been springing up quickly and spreading fast. A long season of fires is predicted. Given the conditions, outdoor residential burning has even been suspended in many areas to help reduce the risk of additional fires. These fires present a serious risk to homes and people so the best thing to do is be prepared. For homeowners, Cal Fire has recommended the removal of dead or dying vegetation and use of a mower or weed wacker to trim grass. Removing lower limbs of trees is also advised to minimize the chance of a fire jumping from the ground to a tree. However, these are only a few of the things that can be done to improve fire prevention on a property.

Anthracnose is one of the most common foliar diseases of landscape trees. It can impact virtually any species, though some, including sycamores, oaks, maples, ash and dogwood, are more susceptible to infection. Foliage of infected trees is often unsightly with discolored or dead “spots” on the leaf surface or along leaf veins.

In my five years working as a field arborist at Bartlett Tree Experts, I have experienced notable and positive changes in arboriculture safety in the Company and in the industry. I have learned to hold the belief that staying current in safety issues and topics every day of the week is an expectation of all employees.

When I first started as a new employee in May 2010, safety meetings were conducted twice a week. Today, we hold safety meetings every day of the week with a different person speaking each week and sometimes daily. There is an emphasis for everyone at the meeting to contribute to the safety topic discussion to help facilitate engagement. Safety meetings are not just lectures. They are interactive – often with hands-on and outside activities.

Last year, each Bartlett office throughout the company established a local office safety coordinator position. This individual helps orchestrate the safety program in the local office through facilitating good discussions on safety topics, helping with safety and training, and ensuring company safety policies are followed with direction from the Division Safety and Training Coordinator. Employees serving as local office safety coordinators must have a thorough understanding of American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A300 Standards for Tree Care Operations and ANSI Z133 Safety Standard for Arboriculture Operations. By placing a safety leader in each office, Bartlett can even further develop its already strong culture of safety.

Being a leader in the tree care industry means continually focusing on learning and innovation. Bartlett’s Tree Topics blog follows in that tradition by offering a place to receive advice on trees, tree pests, tree preservation, and more.